The Stray
by Lukesse101
Summary: Now that Jesse's gone, Aiden can be the hero. Now that the Founder's gone, he can be king. (Male!Jesse; Female!Lukas)
1. Chapter 1

They didn't know that this was going to happen. They didn't know that he was this _crazy._ Everyone and everything had stopped; no fighting, talking, moving,

or the sounds of drawing and releasing breath. Even his "henchmen" ceased to take action, to stop him. He came back from looking down the void and his

face became visible to the group. He was _okay._ He was smiling like a madman. "They're gone." he repeated this to himself a few more times.

"They're dead!" the armored red head exclaimed. "What the hell's wrong with you! You _killed_ two people!"

"And why does that matter to you, Petra? I thought you were tougher than to cry over that."

"That's murder, Aiden!"

"You don't have the evidence." Aiden said, gesturing a small nod to the void. "Well, not anymore."

Petra, Milo and Ivor stood in disbelief at the emotions that Aiden was clearly not exhibiting. Gill and Maya, his "henchmen" were also just as surprised.

If they didn't fear their friend before, now was a good time.

"Get them down to the cells." Aiden ordered. They brought out their swords. They were too scared to disobey. At this point the other three couldn't

give the two blaze rods a hard time; they were still in pain from the Founder's surprise attack earlier.

"Where is she?" Aiden glanced around to find the blonde girl kneeling at the edge, looking down to the void. She was crying. Crying over some guy that she had only met for so long.

Aiden knew her longer than… whatever they thought he was. To him he was just Jesse; some kid that got lucky and in the spotlight with all of his hero crap. And Aiden got tired of it.

"Aiden, " Gill called. "What do you want us to do with Lukas?"

Lukas wiped her face, still hiccuping and trying to compose herself. Once she saw Aiden walking toward her, she quickly got angry, and her eyes teared up again.

"What are you going to do, baby?" He smiled. She narrowed her baby eyes at him.

"Don't you dare call me that."

"I call you what I _want._ "

Aiden glanced back to Maya and Gill. Petra, Milo and Ivor just stood, staring him down. It was funny; they looked so lost without Jesse. Especially Lukas.

She's been sniffing around him like a damn lap dog after all was said and done with the Witherstorm. But now he's gone. Jesse's gone, so now Aiden can play the hero.

With the Founder gone, he can play king.

"Take them to the cells."

Lukas shot a sad look to her friends. "Don't take them."

"Gill, Maya, I'm ordering you."

"Let me go with them."

"no. "

"Aiden please."

"I said no!" he snapped his head to her."You're not going anywhere, Lukas."

Then Aiden grinned, chuckling softly. It brought chills down Lukas' spine.

"You're staying with me."


	2. Chapter 2

Gill and Maya placed the three into the cell. The obsidian walls looked so boring. Everyone was exhausted. Petra leaned up against a wall, arms folded. Ivor sat close to her and Milo just stood, staring at the Blaze Rods as they closed and locked their only means of an exit. Gill was sad about it, holding an expression of fear and mild confusion, no doubt thinking about his closest friend's sanity. Maya hurried him back upstairs in case Aiden needed anything.

"Is this what you do in your world?" Milo asked. "Kill people?"

"No, Aiden's just insane." Petra said. "Now Lukas is there by herself. This is all crazy."

"You don't think he'll get her next?" Ivor worried. Before he could say something else Petra cut him off.

"Don't even think that. Aiden's got nothing bad with Lukas. Sure, they fell out, but he wouldn't hurt her."

"What do you mean 'fell out?'" Ivor's voice rose; something he did when he was shocked or surprised. "They _used_ to be together?"

"And i'm guessing Jesse _was_ the 'new guy,' right?" Milo got closer to the two, getting curious.

"I can't say much about that, but yeah, Aiden didn't used to be like this." Petra tilted her head, reminiscing. "They used to be all lovey-dovey. He was still a bit of a jerk, but he was a funny jerk. She said it was one of the best parts she liked about him."

"How heartwarming." Ivor said, rolling his eyes. "Hopefully he'll be lovey-dovey now or Lukas will be in big trouble."

"And we need to find some way out before he gets to any of us." Milo said. "And the only way to do that is to get his group on our side. Then we can get him."

"And what? We throw him into the Void?" Ivor questioned.

"There's a whole city at stake while this punk is up there. _He_ has the eversource." Milo began pacing. "We need call his friends back down to persuade them, they can make weapons, and we go show him what's what."

"Ok, but we should rest and think this over again later." Petra suggested. "Maya and gill are upstairs now. And if I'm tired, what makes you think that you and Ivor can make any progress?"

She was right. She was probably stronger than the both of the older men. The only thing they could do was rest. Milo was never the type to not take action. He saw all those chests in the founder's secret room. Aiden could be looking through those as they speak, probably grabbing anything that can be used for a weapon and making himself more threatening.

"I still can't believe it." Petra's tired voice took Milo out his train of thought. He assumed she was talking about the death of her friend. Ivor patted her armored shoulder.

"I know," he began. "there's… nothing we can do."

"it happened so freaking quick. Once the founder caught us off guard I couldn't think. If we had just been more careful- I could've been looking out better…"

She placed her gloved hand on her forehead with a sigh, taking it back to her bandanna and pulled it off. The red hair that was held back fell to one side of her face.

"And because of that, he's gone."

Milo folded his arms. He didn't know the new group that much, but the way they felt about their friend reminded him of his underground group of people. He knew how it felt to lose one of his members… his "family" members. At the same time, with his experience, he can't dwell on it too much, in order to help those that are trying to take care of themselves. He cleared his throat.

"hey." Milo spoke up, and the other two looked at him. "Jesse was your leader, right?"

"Yeah. he was." Petra answered. Ivor just listened.

"I know how it is to lead. To worry about the people that are in your care. Say, since I'm stuck in here, what do you think my group would do?"

After looking at him, Petra and Ivor glanced to each other, their saddened expressions lighting up as they were intrigued by Milo's question. Ivor turned to him.

"Well, they'd probably would want to find you."

"Sure, they would. Some are much younger than me, they'll have the spunk to do it if they want to." he chuckled softly. "But here's what I do. I train them up for when something like this happens. So that they can take care of themselves."

"Wait," Petra began, "so it's like they're forgetting about you?"

"Just listen." Milo continued. "My group is not _big_ or _strong_ enough to try and get me out of here. And I wouldn't want them getting themselves hurt to save some old blonde guy. And they learn from this. Then they tell this to the next future members, and one day, when one of them ends up getting captured, they can save them. Because then, they'll be _bigger_ and _stronger._ "

Petra's face softened. At first, she hadn't thought about what he was saying, and more on the idea of _forgetting_ somebody. But still, she was slightly unaware of what he was really trying to say.

"you're right." Ivor spoke up. "Jesse's passing did come as a shock to everybody. But before we mourn, we got to get the rest of us out of here. Lukas is in _much_ more danger than we are. We have to focus on somehow getting better out of this mess, and save her."

He glanced to Petra and have her a reassuring nod. She sighed.

"You're right. You both are. He'd want us to do that."

"I'm glad we're on the same page." Milo said. "now, I'm sure they're going to make us do something ridiculous in the morning. Let's get some rest."

"sounds good." Petra agreed. Ivor nodded.

They all laid on their backs, looking up to the ceiling in silence. They were still wide awake, except for Petra. She felt her eyelids grow heavy. She relaxed, breathing slower with each exhale as she held her bandanna to her chest.


	3. Chapter 3

Was Gill the only one feeling the way he did?

He was on the left side of Lukas, holding his gold sword in his right gloved hand. He glanced at her rarely as to not get Aiden Suspicious, and saw how given up she looked. Her eyes were half lidded, the two blue orbs looking to the lavender carpet. Her blonde hair fell out the braid and was all over her shoulders and back. The leather jacket she came with was off. She was getting goosebumps since she was wearing an orange tank top. Her wrists were tied behind her. They were red from when Maya tied them too tight.

A huge pile of guilt fell into his stomach.

Was he the only one feeling This?

Just on the other side of Lukas was Maya. Her eyes were bright, almost twinkling. Her diamond sword kept poking at Lukas' side. Whenever she did the girl in the blonde would groan, until Aiden told Maya to quit it because it was bugging him. Gill didn't know whether to grimace or ignore it.

"Gill?" Aiden called.

Gill unconsciously shivered, and looked forward. "Yes?"

"Go grab Ivor for me. Bring him to the founder's bedroom. That's where we're headed."

"... Sure thing." He gave Lukas a small look, and noticed that she shifted her eyes slightly to watch him leave her sight. After passing Aiden he felt the teen's green eyes burn into his peripheral vision.

Maya was elated. She had a feeling of success. She almost couldn't contain herself as she watched Lukas walk like a sad puppy.

Her eyes shifted from Lukas, turned her head slightly to see Aiden and looked forward. In her brief second of viewing him he looked like he was in a daze, glaring at Lukas' back as he walked. Her cheeks went warm. What was he thinking about?

After a long few minutes down the torch lit corridor there was a double wooden door. Aiden ordered Maya to go through first. After her clear signal he gently pushed Lukas into the room. She stumbled a bit before standing in the middle of the it, head hanging low. Maya sat on the end of the bed and placed her sword beside her.

She heard the door close behind her, well aware that Aiden was staring at her. She glanced over her shoulder.

"why are we here?"

"finally you speak!" he exclaimed. "I thought you wouldn't talk to me for what I did earlier."

She decided not to comment.

"I'm not here to hurt you. I already did enough damage. I just want to tell you what I require you and your group to do."

he paced slowly around her, and Maya almost seemed jealous. Lukas noticed.

"Now that the founder's gone, I guess I could say I rule this place."

"What will the people think?" She questioned. "You're just as new to this world as we were. The people out there aren't going to trust you."

"I'm aware that they don't trust me, idiot. It'll be easy, since the founder let my group In with open arms. If the founder's stupid, imagine the minds of her citizens."

Aiden chuckled. "I could have left you with your friends in that cell, but I wanted to get something out of the way first. I don't want you guys to mess things up for me."

The doors creaked open. The sounds of footsteps and shuffling filled the bedroom. Aiden glanced at Gill and Ivor.

"Get him to his knees."

Gill pushed down on his shoulders and Ivor knelt obediently. He and Lukas looked to each other, and her breathed hitched.

"You sound a bit panicky, Lukas." Aiden noted.

"why is he here?" she demanded. He seemed to have ignored the question.

"I'm going to tell the people tomorrow that I am their leader, and that their founder and Jesse is dead. I want to change this world to my liking. And that means building new things and tearing the old down."

He stood in front of Lukas. She chose to not meet his eyes and dropped her stare to the floor.

"And that means I need builders. I want you and your friends to teach those idiots to build. I know about Milo's little build club…"

He smirked. "...and I'll deal with him later. If I'm letting you teach those out there, I want to get something clear."

Her blue eyes finally rose to meet his green pair. She was unsure about the majority of his real plan, but she tried not to show it.

" _I own you."_

Her stone expression went perplexed. She tried to say something, but she choked on her confusion.

"If I see a change in the people about me because of something you said, your friends will be in big trouble. If you say anything different from what my story was, _somebody will get hurt._ "

His eyes narrowed.

"Do you understand?"

Lukas' cheeks became red. She tried her hardest to not show her anger that was slowly boiling ever since she came into the room.

"Yeah." she answered with a snarled lip. Her tone was deep. Aiden watched her for a good minute. He glanced down, shook his head slightly and chuckled. There was a mischievous look in his eyes.

"I don't think that's good enough."

He went from her to the kneeling older man. Ivor had kept his focus on the floor, until Aiden came in front of him. He strained to look up without moving his head. Lukas was watching them.

Aiden raised his right hand in a fist and swung at Ivor's face. A quick thud emitted, followed by Ivor grunting and. Lukas was in shock. She hadn't expected him to punch Ivor.

The man coughed. After he gained his balance he trailed his stare back to the brunette teen.

"Jesse hits better than you."

That comment even made Aiden laugh. But it wasn't a good laugh.

"I guess I'll have to try again."

With the same fist he punched again. This time Ivor fell on his side with a groan, his dark hair all over his face and tangled with his beard. Aiden bent over him.

"Aiden." gill said. He was still standing behind Ivor.

"He said Jesse hits better than me." he replied with a huff. "I'm just trying to beat a record."

Again he punched. It made Lukas stomach tense hard.

"Aiden! Stop!"

The third time he grabbed a lock of the older man's hair, and punched again. By now Ivor's mouth was bleeding; his left cheek was bruising badly. He didn't say anything.

"Aiden! Please I'll do whatever you want!"

Her eyes watered as her heart beat faster. Aiden continued, and it was as if Ivor couldn't handle anymore in his conscious state, coming back from each one slower than before.

Maya was laughing. She watched the whole scene play out like a child getting a high from the playground.

"Aiden!" Gill shouted, his voice shaking. Was his friend about to beat a man to death?

Aiden stood up with a sigh. He looked down at the mess he made with right fist, clenching and spreading his fingers. He was enjoying it. Just as he was ready to go back in, he heard Lukas call him.

" **You own me."**

She fell to her knees and sobbed hard.

"Lukas…." Ivor mumbled, probably fighting to stay conscious.

Aiden went back to the blonde and knelt in front of her. He didn't care that one hand was bloodied; he cupped her cheeks.

"look at me and tell me again."

Him whispering made her shiver. She stopped her sobbing just enough to speak.

"You… you own… me, Aiden. You own me." She just wanted him to stop hurting Ivor.

"That's what I wanted." He spoke. "That look of submit. Don't ever look at me the wrong way again, or somebody will pay."

"I won't, I won't. I'm sorry. Please don't hit him anymore."

"I won't. Maya."

Maya huffed. "yes?"

"Go fix Ivor up. Afterwards Gill will take him back to the cell."

Maya left the bed along with her sword. She puts it back in her inventory and brought out medical items and went to Ivor. He was still awake, trying to ease his breathing. She glanced at Gill. He looked sick.

"you can stop crying." Aiden whispered. He wiped Lukas' face, removing the tears but now there was a smear of blood on her left cheek. "There's nothing to cry about."

" **you belong to me now "**


	4. Chapter 4

Petra opened her eyes.

 _The first day of their torture,_ she thought. Although she slept relatively well, the small good feeling went away when her eyes opened up to the ceiling. Waking up only once last night, from what she remembered Gill had taken her armor by the demand of Aiden.

"Petra, finally awake?" Milo's voice sounded loud to her.

"I almost forgot we were here." She muttered, sitting up and stretching her back.

She was shocked to see Ivor with a bruised face and bandages. His left eye could barely open.

"He came in last night with Gill. He wanted your armor, too. You looked out of it so I helped you get it off." Milo spoke. He and Ivor were sitting together on the floor. He probably just got done checking his bandages.

"Aiden punched the hell out of me." Ivor scoffed. "Multiple times. he wanted Lukas to submit to him. So he hurt me for her fear to take over and do so."

"That's crazy!" Petra exclaimed.

"...And he was speaking of your secret club." Ivor nodded to Milo. "He wants us to teach the people to build, so we can change this world his way."

"Fuck that!" The redhead blurted. "How are they gonna agree to that? They can barely make ladders!"

"He's going to speak to them... maybe this morning? He doesn't want us to say anything different than he does to them."

"Oh no…" Milo whispered

"We gotta….We…." Petra wanted to think, think of someway out of this, ASAP. But every time she brings her glance to Ivor's face it put her in some sort of cautious state about her planning.

"How are his friends?" The blonde asked, mentioning Maya and Gill. "The bigger guy seemed very… sane."

"Yeah?" Petra's eyes seemed to have brightened. "Gill did look pretty sad when he got Ivor last night."

"He may be the only one who's not bad." Ivor added. "Maya…. She did bandage me up, but only because Aiden made her do so. She was laughing while I was being beaten."

Milo's expression saddened. Petra's cheeks were almost in sync with her hair color, a thing that happens when she's beyond pissed off. She got up and to the cell bars before she lowered her head and sighed. The signature head scarf was in her back pocket, so her hair fell forward, sticking to her cheeks.

"Stay calm, Petra." Ivor said.

"I'm trying, but we seemed to be fucked at the moment."

"Everything's happened so quickly. Once Aiden does what he does, he'll give us things to do, and we can plan from there." Milo assured.

"A-and what about lukas? What if we don't see her again? What will he do to her?"

"We just need to hope she can be strong. She knows Aiden better than anybody else."

There was only a minute of silence until the group heard footsteps. A door opened from out their view and closed seconds later. Gill and Maya came from the right of the cell. She unlocked the door and her and Gill stood on either side.

"Come on, shits. Aiden's getting ready to do his speech."

Ivor remembered the layout of the path from the cell to the front steps of the castle. There were turns and short corridors with large windows. Last time there were pictures of the founder on the walls, but they were taken down. Small groups of guards passed by, talking about crowd control for today's speech, with all having confused expressions. They probably don't know where their founder is. Ivor faintly frowned.

The group entered the main room where he, Jesse and Lukas was talking to the founder yesterday. To their left was the throne. Aiden sat comfortably with gauze wrapped around his right hand, covering his knuckles. Lukas was standing beside him. Her hair was less of a mess, but her clothes were dirty as they were hours ago. Blood was caked on the side of her cheek. She looked highly miserable, but when she saw her friends she smiled weakly.

"You guys are here." Aiden said, clasping his hands as he stood. He stepped down and took a short glance at the three prisoners.

"Maya and Gill will watch you four. I'm going out to talk to them. When I ask for Milo, bring him out."

"Yes Sir!" the two said, Maya seemingly excited. Aiden turned and headed towards the exit. The henchmen got everyone to sit on the ground.

"Are you okay?" Petra asked Lukas. She was sitting next to her, with Milo on her other side and Ivor seated next to him.

"Yeah." The blonde looked to Ivor, and instantly felt sorrowful.

"I'm alright." he spoke faintly "We're still alive."

"Shut up." Maya said. "He's about to start."

Aiden was standing outside the entrance with two guards on each side of him. A dozen of guards were at the crowd, calming them so that Aiden can begin speaking.

"I know what you're all thinking." He began. His voice sounded deeper when he amplified himself. "Where is our Founder? And every single one of you deserve to know. Before I tell you, I have to begin with the events that happened yesterday that brought me here now.

"We came from another world, highly different from yours. My two friends and I were running from this infamous, distrustful man you all know as 'Jesse'. We came here to find help from him and his group of evil people. Your Founder caught him and threw him in the cell, but he escaped. With her help, we tried to put him to an end. She and Jesse fought. Too distracted by each other, they didn't realize they were near the edge, closer to the void and farther away from me. Before I could grab her they both fell."

The shock and despair in their faces almost made Aiden lose his character. He wanted to laugh.

"I didn't want to be the one to say this… but your _Founder is dead_."

The shock grew more into grief, and a few people cried. The guards standing next to him also had a few tears to shed.

"Even though I'm not from this world, I want you all to know that I am dearly sorry for your loss and the impact on all of you. I understand how it is to lose someone you love. But do not let her name go in vain. If she wasn't strong enough to make the sacrifice she did, Jesse will still be here, and your world would have been destroyed. But there was something she told me. Before we fought the marauder, she asked me: 'Aiden, is there a chance that we'll win?' And I said, 'probably not. Jesse is stronger than anything I have ever seen.' And that's when she looked me in my eye and said: 'no matter what happens, I do not want Jesse taking my kingdom. If I die, Aiden, I want to trust my people to you. I trust you.' I could barely respond to that. Take care of a kingdom? I'm barely an adult. But after all of that, I figured something. This isn't about you, or even me. Instead, through me, I can continue her work. I want to make her proud, and make her happy with my ideas for your positive future. I can't let the founder down, and I won't."

Aiden outstretched his arms, as if he was getting a hug from tons of people.

"May you all, give me a chance?"

There was a steady few seconds of silence before a multitude of citizens nodded in unison, some still crying. Others clapped, and once noise was made more people talked on the lines of agreeing until there was large waves of applause to Aiden. He smiled. He waved his hands down, attempting to quiet the crowd. They went dead silent. They were already listening to him. It almost turned him on.

"In order for us to continue, some changes have to be made. I still have Jesse's group, but they are willing to change. Without their leader, they are lost. I want to give them a chance. They know how to build. I want to select a chosen few as students to help us make the changes that need to happen. But it seems that among you, there are some of you that were building behind your Founder's back. Those people are a part of a secret build club. And I have their leader."

He called for Milo. Gill was leading him outside, carefully watching the man's movements. He told him to get on his knees, and Milo complied.

"I don't want to be seen as the evil man today, but rules have to be made because I care. Milo, a man of your world, sided with Jesse. I want to give him another chance. At the same time, there are people that can do the same thing right now in the crowd and try to destroy what the Founder envisioned."

Aiden took out his sword and placed it at Milo's neck.

"If the members of this secret building club do not come up to these steps in 3 days this man will _die_.I want all of them here. The guards here will get you, lock you up, and I'll question you. If you love your leader that much than you'll do this for him. You all can be helpful in the future of this kingdom."

The crowd was still quiet. No one spoke up. He figured to was time to end the speech.

"If anyone heard about anybody of this club, give a guard a tip."

Aiden, Gill and Milo returned inside, and the guards began getting the crowd to return to their usual schedule as the people became loud with chatter. Milo was given back to the other three.

"You sounded pretty good!" Maya complemented

"I guess I did." Aiden smirked. "They're really stupid."

"What do we do now?" Gill asked.

"Now we freshen up. " Aiden glanced to the group sitting on the floor. "I want to plan some more things, but damn, I'm ripe. Sooo~"

Aiden stood by Lukas, and she took that as an order to stand. Petra darted her eyes to her friend. Maya gave Lukas a look over as well.

"where is she-"

"she's coming with me. I need a scrubbing assistant."

He winked at Lukas. It made her stomach turn. "Put these idiots back in the cell and wash up. After that bring take them up to the wash room. I'll be back in a lil' bit."

Aiden began walking with Lukas following him. Maya and Gill ordered the other three to their feet, returning then to the cell.


	5. Chapter 5

The sun felt farther away than usual. The air smelled different.

The Founder's eyes fluttered open. Instantly she felt the cold shock of the water hitting her body.

How did she get here again? Last night's scenario was so sketchy as everything happened so fast.

A feeling of worry hit her stomach. What of her people? What are they doing? Who is up there in charge?

Her thoughts scrambled when she heard someone breathing. Eventually she stood and scanned her surroundings for the person. Purple armor stood out from the thick grass just about 10 feet to the left.

It was Jesse! He was breathing rather heavy like; he happened to be farther from the shore, close to a tall tree.

The Founder knelt beside him, gasping. His armor was dented on the right side. There was a damp spot showing under a plate that she lifted. He was bleeding. Scars were disorganized on his face. Parts of clothing was ripped.

She stared at his face. He was alive of course; his eyes were closed shut, chapped lips parted as his breathing was loud and hoarse.

"Oh goodness gracious." She mumbled, voice shaking. She could recall them falling. Jesse was telling her to go into the water as he was gliding uncontrollably away from her. She was scared that he wouldn't make the fall. Looking at the situation now, Jesse must've went into the tree rather than hitting the ground and dying.

"Jesse? It's me. Can you hear me?"

She put a hand to his forehead, waiting for a response. The only reply given was a hacking cough. He was out of it.

"Jesse, I'll make something for you to rest in, okay?"

The longer the Founder looked at the teen the more guilt was rotting in her stomach. He was right about that other boy- Aiden- all along. She was too simple-minded to understand. Jesse had to be nursed back to help so they can return to the city.

She sighed and glanced to the sky. The city wasn't even visible from this world.

There was a sheep groaning in the distance. Her eyes darted to it then to the tree beside them.

She placed the wool in her inventory along with the wooden axe. The dirt hut she made was simple enough for the two of them. She grabbed Jesse by his underarms and carefully dragged him inside, apologizing for any discomfort he subconsciously groaned to, despite him not hearing her. After a few moments of struggle he was on the bed. The founder began by removing pieces of the armor until his black shirt, green suspenders and beige cargo pants were visible. Lifting his shirt she sighed at the large scar, caked and still leaking with blood. There wasn't much medical equipment to care for the wound. The least that could be done was clean it.

First, she went to the shore using a piece of cloth she ripped from her dress and soaked it. She remembered seeing a cactus close by the hut. From studying botany, a prickly pear cactus had pads on them that held antiseptic qualities. There was few around the city and was a useful aid for wounds. She used her dress to guard her hands from the pricks and used the axe to cut the surface away.

A small gleam of confidence showed in the faint smile she had, hoping that this could hold of some sort of infection or fever. _It'll work out,_ the Founder thought. _I'm not scared. I can do this._

After that she turned to the house with a wet cloth and piece of sticky cactus in hand. Almost making it she noticed something- or someone- in the distance.

She wasn't sure if it was some monster, but it wasn't looking human either. The tall, ebony humanoid figure was holding a dirt block, glancing around as if it looking for a place to put it. She stared at it, and eventually it met her gaze.

 _Is that how people look here?_ Its eyes were purple and it seemed to not have a mouth. Then, his whole body faced her.

"Ex...excuse me." She said loud enough for it to hear. "I have someone who's wounded and-"

It vanished as she was talking. Her voice stopped, words stuck in her throat as her stomach tightened. Her body absentmindedly took her inside the hut. Then she felt safe to exhale, almost forgetting to breathe. Whatever it was it could teleport; she felt better that it went away.

Her eyes trailed to Jesse and she went back to the plan. She wiped the wound clean, placed the sliced cactus piece gently atop and used his shirt to wrap his abdomen the best she could, tying the sleeves in a tight knot.

 _That would have to do._ She smiled and sat beside his leg. Jesse was still breathing hard but it seemed to have calmed.

Just as she felt there was nothing to worry about at the moment, her stomach growled. The smile left and what came was a scowl of annoyance. The two would have to just settle with fish. There was the mutton from the sheep earlier, but there wasn't a cobblestone block anywhere. Something would have to work for now.

Going back out she checked the area. That "man" was nowhere to be seen.I The water was a deep hue of blue with spots of white, reflecting the sky. There was fish swimming about. The longer the founder looked the more hungry she became.

Then she stopped at the tide, looking back to the sky, where her kingdom continued without their ruler. At that moment she fell to her knees, growing frustrated at the body of water and the food residing in it. Tears bubbled in the corner of her eyes before rolling down her cheeks and dripping onto her dress.

" _I don't know how to fish."_


	6. Chapter 6

The overwhelming feeling of being watched was giving Jesse's group a bad feeling. Aiden, Gill and Maya walked them to the courtyard, an outside area in the middle of the castle. The guards stared as they went. The area was clear with a few guards walking around and talking; there was two people standing in the middle. One was a tall pale man and the other a short kid. Aiden beckoned them over.

"These two want to learn to build." He began. "For a few days I want you both-" he points to Maya and Petra- "I want you both to teach them the basics and I'll add more students if it's going good."

Lukas and Ivor gave Petra a nod 'bye' as Aiden and Gill take the remaining two towards the throne room. They stop near the huge doors that lead to the plaza.

"The Founder had no skill-or had no one with skill- to make potions. I need Ivor to stay in today." Aiden pats the older man's shoulder. "Figured that the sun would strain the one eye that's working."

He laughed. Ivor forced out a chuckle. He had to, unfortunately. Lukas wanted to apologize just cause, but she stayed quiet. "And for you two." He gives her a map. "You're good at filling those out. Gill will accompany you. Fill what you can and come back at sunset."

Lukas and Gill exit to the front steps. Citizens were walking around, talking in groups. A long line was in front of the food station. The two walked ahead and left the small plaza and entered a neighborhood. There was a lack of space between houses. A few children gave the two short glances as they ran around.

"You look cleaner from the last time I seen you."

Lukas glances at Gill before checking herself. They were both wearing a white shirt and khaki pants. Her old clothes were being cleaned. "Thank you." was all she said. Other than during Aiden's speech, the other time Lukas and Gill were able to see each other was during Ivor's beatdown that was barely twenty-four hours ago.

There was a long fifteen minutes of silence until Gill cleared his throat. "This is all so absurd."

The blonde sighed. "I'm terrified. I've only seen my friends for that short time this morning. I need to talk to them… but that's why were separated, huh?"

Gill hummed. Lukas continued. "I don't know what to do. And Milo? If Aiden's serious, he's putting him on death row."

"It makes me shudder every time he talks about it." He mentioned. "And Maya… she's encouraging him. Giving him ideas on how to _kill_ him. One time, she suggested that they use the flint and steel to fucking _burn him alive_."

Lukas listened, grimacing at the image of that. "What the hell…" She muttered. That was when his words repeated in her head. _The flint and steel._ Aiden still has it. "Oh no."

"I mean, even Aiden says that's too far. Then again-"

"You mean the enchanted flint and steel?" She interrupted Gill.

"Yeah. He still has it."

"You think we could find a portal here?" She glanced at the map and what they have so far. "If we fill out the map, all the nook and crannies, we could find one."

"Okay," He agreed. "But we may not have time before sunset."

"Then we can finish tomorrow." Her voice rose a tad bit, head brimming with ideas now that she remembered Aiden has the key to the door they need to desperately find.

"Once we find the portal, how do we get the flint and steel, Lukas?"

"We fucking take it from him." She blurted.

Gill's breath hitched and had stopped walking. Lukas stopped too, looking at his expression cautiously. "What do you mean by that?" He inquired, sounding worried. "He won't give it to you. How do you plan on getting it from him?"

She fell silent, closing her eyes with a sigh. He didn't bother; just watching as her bottom lip trembled slightly. "I… I couldn't hurt him. I couldn't… kill… him. I figured I have to do whatever he says… get his trust before trying to get it. Somehow."

"Hey…" Gill put his hands on her shoulders. "Let's just finish this, yeah? Don't think too hard right now. With the way he makes it, your actions will determine the wellbeing of your friends. That's a lot to deal with."

Lukas opened her eyes and they stare at eachother. Gill was probably the only person she could trust from her former group.

"You're right." She said. "Let's get as much of the map done as we can."

"Alright."

The majority of the walk was silent; as the afternoon went by the people were heading to the plaza. Lukas was listening to the small comments gill made about the simple structures of the houses. Her mind went on about the flint and steel. From what they had on the map, there will be a little left for tomorrow to finish. She'd hope Aiden would let her complete it. The sky began to grow a dark orange; they would have to return soon. Gill clearing his throat again almost startled her.

"I don't think I've said this yet," He inhaled. "I'm sorry for what happened to jesse. He was a good man."

Lukas tried to give him a smile, but it appeared faintly. "Thank you."

"Yeah. We… should head back."

The orange light casted on the rooftops. People were returning to the neighborhood. Lukas was relieved with the lack of sunlight; people weren't so willing to stare at her like they were earlier. The trip back was peaceful with the occasional chatter of passerbys. She heard one of them say 'castle' and mention 'a mob.' When they saw the plaza and the castle steps in view there was indeed a mob of citizens. Aiden was at the top of the case trying to speak.

"What is going on?" Gill muttered, quickening his pace and making her do the same.

"How are we going to get through that?" Lukas grimaced. She figured it was a small group of those who weren't so happy with Aiden being in charge.

"Seems like they only want him, and the guards are keeping them back. Stay behind me and I'll just take you through."

Guards held shields as they gently but continuously push the crowd back. "You don't belong here!" They chanted. Gill took Lukas' hand and guided her through the people, hurrying to get back inside. Before they managed to get all the way through she felt someone grab her other hand, making Gill and herself stop in their place.

"You were with Jesse! You killed our Founder!" a woman screamed sorrowfully. What scared Lukas the most was that she couldn't see their face as the people around her was blocking her view. More hands tried to grab her and took her away from Gill's grip. Kicking was of no avail as no space would allow her to do so. Yelling for help was the only option but the voices were chanting too loud. Just when things began to turn disastrous there was the sound of glass breaking and seconds after that a thick purple cloud emerged. That startled the crowd, so the hands that scratched at Lukas soon fell away. Inhaling she quickly felt the heavy fog invade her and began coughing. Instinctively she pulled her shirt over her nose and tried to squint through the smoke. The group either broke up or some people fell around her and coughed violently. _Oh god_ , she thought. _this is Dragon's Breath_. She stumbled as she tried to shuffle her feet past fallen people and soon bumped into somebody.

"It's me, baby, it's me." It was aiden. His voice was muffled from his shirt also being over his mouth. Guiding her around the bodies and up the steps she was finally able to breathe, almost toppling to the carpet if Aiden wasn't holding her tightly. Gill was leaning over, given a glass of water by Ivor. The raven haired elder looked to her, alarmed.

"Lukas! Are you-"

" _Don't touch her._ " Aiden growled. "I got her. Are you okay, Gill?"

"I'm alright. Was that… Dragon's Breath?"

"Yeah. Old man made them. We need more if we're going to have a fucking mob like that again. You two grab some food in the mess hall and have him brew some more."

Lukas was simply quiet, listening. She wanted to head to the mess hall with Ivor, but Aiden's arms kept her frozen. "You're staying with me. I have food and water in my room. You can see your friends later."

It would be useless disobeying him. She let him take her to the left of the throne room and down the hallway that lead to the sleeping chambers. Lukas began coughing and Aiden sighed.

"Sorry about that. It was the only way to break the crowd up at the time."

"Why… "

"Why are you coming to my room? You don't see all these marks on you? From those people? Not to mention you were square in the smoke. You need a steamy bath."

"I'm fine." she said, the response was more of a wheeze than it was words. "Why are you doing this?"

He uses a free hand to dig into his pocket and took out the map Lukas sworn she put in her pocket.

"You did good with what I asked of you. So you get some kind of reward. Also, I feel a bit bad for not warning you about the potion." he chuckled and put the map away. As much as he wanted to sound soft, Lukas senses were at, or trying to be, on full alert. Her body was feeling weak all of a sudden; the smoke clinged onto her clothes really good. She started muttering 'no' repeatedly, trying her best to stay awake, especially being alone with Aiden. Next thing she knew her feet were off the ground and she was being carried. Her eyes were half lidded, staring at his face and failing to steady her breathing.

"Chill out. I won't do anything." he gave a soft laugh.

"I keep the things I own in good condition."


	7. Chapter 7

The sun was bright in her eyes, the scarf doing nothing to combat the light as it was tied up on her head. The courtyard wasn't particularly busy, but the hallways were filled with roaming guards, something petra noticed when she peeked through the windows on the outside.

Maya was sitting on the steps that led inside, watching the redhead with a keen glare. Petra huffed and turned to her _students._ The two came through this morning, Maya had explained after Aiden left. They would come here every morning to be taught and return home in the evening. Petra assumed that she herself will be teaching them, while Aiden's goon sat on her ass like a prize.

The first one that greeted her was a tall, pale man. "I'm Gregory." His voice was deep but clear. His overalls were brown and the sweatshirt underneath was black. His short, curly and ebony hair was swept behind his ears.

"I'm lucas." the fair skinned short one spoke, the blonde short hair covering portion of his face as he squinted at Petra with his left blue eye. His clothing preferences seemed… tight. The tank top under the open red jacket hugged his torso. The blue jeans strangled his thighs and ankles. _Some characters they are,_ she thought.

"My name's Petra. Until different plans are made, I'll be teaching you building and mining techniques."

Gregory was looking at Maya, she noted. "That's Maya. She's… the supervisor, I guess."

"Can she hear us from here?"

Perplexed, Petra hesitantly and slowly turned her head to Maya. she was socially occupying herself with some guards that came her way. "I… don't think so. I can't hear them talking, so she shouldn't be able to hear us."

The two men quickly glanced at each other from the corner of their eyes. Gregory returned his attention to Petra.

"We know who you are." He whispered. "We've seen you at the building club."

At first she was surprised of course; hearing that made her shiver. The second thought was that Aiden sent someone to make her spill some secrets. The squint she gave them was full of suspicion. "I never seen you before." she responded, dismissing the news.

"Don't worry. We're usually in the background. We're the real deal."

Maya had yelled, telling them to start working. Petra pretended to teach them, rummaging through a chest prepared near her for supplies.

"How are you here?" She asked softly. "How are you in the courtyard right now?"

"After that speech your friend made, Lucas and I got ourselves a way to explain that we'd offer to be builders. No one knows us. Most of our members don't know we exist."

She gave them each a crafting table along with wooden blocks and sticks. The items looked homely in their hands, having probably used them multiple times.

"We need to get our leader back before those days are up." Lucas pressed his palms into the table. If the situation didn't call to not arouse suspicion, chances are he would have slammed them to match his tone of urgency. "After today is when the clock starts ticking."

They made a sword, along with other simple tools. It seemed easy for them. Petra couldn't help but check her surrounding much too often.

"He's in a cell in the castle's lower levels. I haven't been there since this morning, but I'll be back there tonight." Her heart went rapid at her statement. "I… I can tell him that you both been here.

Gregory hummed. "I never seen so many guards out here." he noted. "The founder usually had so few on patrol when it's this early."

Then they were given cobblestone to create a furnace. She introduced coal, explaining its uses and had them make torches. When she checked over her shoulder, Maya was still sitting at the steps, pushing her strands of hair behind her ears. "He might have some guarding the cell maybe, or will have some tomorrow." They began to cook fish. Petra watched their reaction to the pops and sizzles, making her wonder If the citizens even cook their own food. She cleared her throat. "How would you two get in the castle, besides the courtyard? I don't think you're allowed to go any further than here."

"I _would_ study the guard's patterns and cycles," Gregory suggested. "but we don't have that kind of time, not to mention your friend seems unpredictable."

Guards eyed them from the windows of the corridor. " _Very_ unpredictable." The redhead agreed.

"Where did he even come from?" Lucas inquired. "Where did _you_ come from?"

The lesson moved to ores, specifically iron and its many uses. While they were busy with the buckets, shears and such, Petra answered the question. "We found an enchanted flint and steel that opened a portal-" she chuckled at their raised eyebrows- "and Aiden took it. The one reason we're here was to get it back and find our way home."

Gregory and Lucas listened, giving a moment to take in the idea of other worlds, and that people can go to different ones. The tall male hummed. "I see. If you can help us get Milo, we can get rid of Aiden so you can get… that… thing."

"And by _get rid_ , you mean…" She gave him a questionable look.

"We get Milo, and do whatever with Aiden. Toss him into the void, kill him, whatever."

She found herself leering at his words; Petra hadn't made the idea of killing people so thrilling, like Aiden had easily done hours before. Sure, he's a fucking nutjob, but she knew him. At the moment, killing people she knew didn't sit right with her.

"Leaving him alive would be a shitty decision." Lucas chimed in, staring at her. "Let him rule and your group just up and leaves to go _portal shopping_? While we run everyday from his _authorities_?" Gregory patted his back, trying to dispel the other's tone. Lucas scoffed. "When I heard his speech I wanted to pounce and kill that fucker where he stood, having milo looking like a damn animal-" The taller man warned him once more, and the other finally calmed.

"I get it." Petra surrendered. "We couldn't just leave and have this world in his hands." Her voice was intentionally low besides the whispering. It felt like she agreed to have a hit on somebody.

It was quiet for some time until the late afternoon hit; she called for a break and they ate the fish cooked earlier. Maya was walking over to them, checking their progress. The weather had proven quite warm and she wasn't wearing her leather jacket. She stood over Petra's sitting form, putting her weight on her left leg whilst her left hand rested on her hip.

"You noobs seem to be making good progress." her looked at Gregory. "Petra's into tall guys, you know."

The redhead rolled her eyes so hard it was practically audible.

"How's that Wither mark doing for you?" the brunette smirked at how the woman wanted to ignore her so badly, noticing how her head tilted to the left arm but stopped midway.

"I'm fine." she spoke sternly.

"What?" Maya whined. "Just asking how you're feeling. Trust me when I say this, you were sick as a dog with that sickness and all."

"I said I'm fine." she barked, warning her.

"Alright." she shrugged. "Good to know." before leaving she gave the men a quick check over, returning back to her spectating spot. The three were finished eating; Petra sighed with annoyance.

"She's very rude." Gregory stated. Petra absentmindedly nodded.

"She's only acting like that because she thinks Aiden's going to spoil her."

"Are they together?"

"No. something must've happened for her to think he'd want her."

"So…" Lucas murmured, putting pieces together. "Are _you_ his girlfriend?"

If the kid was someone else, she would have taken it as an insult. "Hell no. One of my friends-her name's lukas- she was with him. They've broken up, though."

He settled with an oh, and they continued with their lesson. She taught them about armor and the difference between the leather to the gold. The silence was excused for the men actually having no idea about the concept. Soon they did their tries at creating armor.

"What about that?" Lucas broke the silence, gesturing to her arm. "Are you sick or something?"

"I'm not sick, trust me." She laughed. "There was this monster, this Wither Storm, and I got infected trying to hold it off to save my friends… you guys have no Idea what I'm talking about, huh?"

"What the hell is any of that?"

The sky turned a dark orange. Petra closed out today's lesson with showing different blocks and giving descriptions. In between that was the story about Jesse and his group of funny nerds, The Order of The Stone they held their gullible faiths in, and the monster that nearly destroyed their town. There was the sound of combined chatter that soon turned into clashing scrambles of shouting. The three caught guards running through the corridors. Gregory and Lucas looked about defensively. Petra's eyes searched for Maya in time to see Aiden and Ivor approach her. Her friend gave her a faint smile. Aiden seemed annoyed.

"Fucking crowd out there with their fucking sticks…" He mumbled. "Petra, I had it where the students went home, but that crowd's talking about hurting people leaving and entering the castle. I was going to have you to the cells, but you and them two can go to the barracks for tonight." He slid a palm down his face. "Fuck…" he drawed out. Maya soon came back, presumably checking on the guards. "Maya, where's Gill?"

"I haven't seen him yet."

"Oh _fuck_. Lukas and him are still out there." He began walking and the rest followed suit. The throne room was loud; just past those large double doors was a crowd of townspeople hollering. Petra looked to Gregory, shaking her head and dismissed the Idea of being in the cell for tonight. He nodded and let Lucas know. Aiden told maya to take them to the mess hall.

"Sure thing." she obeyed. "Come on, idiots."

Petra's mind worried for Lukas as they entered the mess hall to the right of the throne room. It was empty, with the exception of a few guards talking about the crowd outside. They sat near a window to view the angry mob. The yelling was barely muffled by the glass. The redhead spotted Lukas and Gill approaching; her breath hitched.

"Fucking worrying about her." maya groaned. "It's probably the only reason he's thinking about those shitheads outside." she took in how Petra's palms were pressed on the window, eyes darting at the crowd, searching for her friend. The brunette rolled her eyes. "I'm sure your _girlfriend's_ fine, Petra."

"Fuck off." the other quickly blurted, glancing to Maya then returning to the view. Gregory and Lucas darted back and forth between the two women.

"Did I upset you? You feel like you owe her something?"

"What's your deal, Maya?" Petra growled, giving her full attention to her. The other grinned.

"Why do you care? What? Is it because she was fucking your pathetic leader, so you gotta be her white knight-"

The students didn't think Petra would react and grip Maya's collar as if it were her neck. Their faces were centimeters apart. Maya laughed as strands of hair fell in her sight.

"What are you going to do? Hit me?"

"I should knock the Seven Shades of Shit outta you." she replied shrewdly. "Why shouldn't I?"

The mob outside was groaning and coughing. Lucas caught sight of a purple cloud.

"Because, You'd be getting your friends in trouble."

Petra's angry expression lessened.

"Lukas could get in trouble, or Ivor might just be blind before tomorrow. That's why you should get your hands off me."

Slowly but surely she let her go, but kept her glare as she slumped her back against the window. Footsteps alarmed them, only to find out it was Gill and Ivor, coughing lightly. Maya went over to their side.

"What happened?" She asked while they sat.

"The crowd got violent." Gill began. "They tried to hurt Lukas. Aiden threw some Dragon's Breath out there."

"Where is he now?"

"I didn't see. He's with Lukas, though."

She huffed. "Okay. Look, I'll be back to take them three to the barracks after they eat. I was supposed to feed Milo, but you can just drop some food by, alright?"

The bearded man nodded. She left and Ivor took the seat next to him. Petra watched her leave. The mess hall filled with low conversations of guards' reaction to the purple cloud while food was being brought out. The only beings quiet were the group of five. Ivor and Petra shared concern glances before eyeing the wooden floor at their feet. They were each taken aback by the scenarios that were ending just as fast as they started. Petra was especially winded, mentally, at least. As much as Maya enjoyed pissing her off, she didn't have the freedom to do something about it. Doing anything wrong could put her friends in danger. She looked at Ivor's eyepatch when he didn't notice. _I don't want him to be blind._

Just as they took in the people and surroundings, Lucas awkwardly hummed, gaining their attention.

"So… what the fuck is a Dragon's Breath?"


End file.
